Twisted
by Karen Hikari
Summary: If the son of Apollo wasn't lying . . . That meant that his words had been honest. And his words had been ones about feelings. One in specific. His words had been about love.
1. He Meant It

Okay, so here's the deal. I haven't read the second saga of Percy Jackson . . . Yeah, I'm a disgrace, I know.

Still, a very good friend of mine was being rather insistent about me writing a fanfic with these two. I managed to say "no" for a good month, but the other day I came across "Child of Dead", a song by Gio Navas (which you should really listen to, it's great), and one of the verses is "My heart is twisted", so that had me wondering "was he talking about him plainly or about him being gay?" And then I had a mental image of Will -who I don't know yet beacuse I haven't read those books- talking to him, and I liked it so much I simply had to write it.

So here it is. There are no spoiler alerts, because well, I can't spoil you something I haven't read, right?

Hope you liked it! And something else, once in a while it looks like I'm being kind of . . . harsh on homosexuals, for it to be on record, that's not the case. I'm very fond of them and I think everyone should be free to love whom they choose. I even have some friends that are gay. In fact, the one who asked me for this story, so I'm still sorry if it gives the impression that I do not like them or aren't in favor of equalitary love, know that's not the case (and if it was, why would I bother to write a whole story on a gay pairing?)

Either way, enjoy it! And know that the characters are owned by Rick Riordan!

_Chapter One _

_He Meant It_

It was mid-summer, and rather reluctantly, the only Greek demigod of Hades was currently staying at the camp.

He was inside his cabin at that time, not doing anything but stare blankly at the black wall, which he found really ironic.

He also found pathetic how was just sitting there ruminating and pondering over things that had already happened in his life but he couldn't stop himself from thinking.

Like, for example, how he had fallen out of love with Percy some time ago. He really had.

Well, at least he thought so. It wasn't as if he actually knew what love was anyways.

He really believed he'd been in love with Percy.

He thought so because of how good he felt when he was around him, because of how nice and charming he was, because of how his heart shuddered when the son of Poseidon smiled, even if his playful grin wasn't even directed to him.

He thought he'd loved Percy because of how accepted he felt when he was with the son of the sea, because of how nicely he'd always treated him, because of how easy-going Percy was.

But loving someone meant you wanted the best for that person. And he surely as Hell wasn't the best Percy would find. He surely as Hell wasn't the best for anyone, he was aware.

Percy was in love with someone. Someone that just happened to match how perfect Percy was, with her beautiful curly blonde hair and her bright-smiley face.

Percy was in love with Annabeth, and he surely was corresponded by the daughter do Athena.

He knew that. He had no right to step into a relationship when both parts of the couple had never done anything but to be kind to him. He had no right to attempt to split them apart when it was easy to see just how much they loved each other.

And, ultimately, there was no point, because Percy would never love him the way he loved his girlfriend. He stood no chance against that girl, not only because of who the girl was, but mostly because of who _he_ was.

Annabeth was simply perfect for Percy, and Percy was perfect for Annabeth. He just didn't fit in the picture, it was plain and painfully obvious and he knew it.

Plus, there was that other part . . . Percy wasn't gay.

Percy was a perfectly normal guy. Percy was not as defective and faulty as he was. Percy not only loved the one that he was meant to love, but also he felt attracted to the gender he was supposed to feel attracted to.

He just was not. He couldn't help the bitter smile that made its way up to his lips. Of course he was not like that, not like Percy or like any other person he knew. He had to be different. He had to be dissimilar. He had to be wrong. He had to be twisted; twisted in all the damn ways he could be.

Gods, he couldn't just be a freak because he could rise skeletons from the ground; he couldn't just be a freak because he smelt like death (what did that even smell like anyways? He was not even aware of the smell it had, which just happened to be ironic). He couldn't just be a freak because of how skinny and pale he was. Oh, no, gods, no. He had to be a freak also because of that.

It was just wrong. He was just wrong, he was aware. The fates simply couldn't –wouldn't– give him a rest, that was simply out of the table.

There were really nice girls at the camp, sure. Apollo's cabin had charming girls, and so did Aphrodite's or Demeter's or practically each and every cabin –excepting maybe, Ares'–, and in a perfect world he would have been attracted by a girl, just like every other guy was. But in this world, which just happened to be the real one, he was attracted to people of his very same gender. Wonderful, just won-der-ful.

Either way, he had fallen out of love with the amazing, breath-taking Perseus Jackson long time ago.

He was not even sure he had even been in love with him to start with. He just knew something in the son of the sea captured him and made him want to stay by his side almost desperately. He only knew he'd been attracted to him and experienced something so strong when Percy touched him or so much as talked to him, that the older of the two never noticed.

He only knew and he was certain that what he had felt was something powerful, something strong that he'd never felt before, towards anyone. And if that was not love, he certainly didn't know what it was, (which was the reason why he was having these thoughts at the moment to begin with).

But it was over.

It was just pointless and senseless to continue to or to even try to beg for the demigod's love when he knew he stood no chance to gain it. It was just futile to put himself exactly in where he would get hurt when he wanted to avoid that pain. It hurt nevertheless, everything in his fucking life hurt, but he just . . . he just didn't want to risk getting hurt that way anymore, or not any further, for he knew he was not going to win anything but heart-ache, same he already had enough of. It was just worthless, pointless.

Percy didn't see him as anything other than a close friend, a younger brother, he himself had said that to Nico once or twice.

It had taken time for him to be okay with that thought, to not feel his throat thickening or the capacity to breathe leaving his body when r heard that Percy only viewed him as a sibling, but he was now. He finally was fine with it.

He had managed to convince himself to look at Percy as an older brother too, as someone he could trust and cling to, as someone he could ask for help if he needed it, as someone that accepted him for who he was.

He trusted Percy, he really did. If there was someone he could rely on that sure was Percy Jackson; after everything they'd been through, after the many times that the son of the Sea had proven himself to him to continue disbelieving him would have been too much, even for the son of Hades. Still, not even Percy knew. Not even Percy knew _that_.

He hadn't told him. How could he? How could he fucking do it?

He didn't want to recognize it, didn't want to accept it, even if it was just to himself, but it scared him.

He was scared. Better yet, he was terrified. Terrified of telling him, terrified of speaking the words aloud, terrified of the disgusted look that would surely be present in those sea-green eyes, terrified of Percy seeing just how much of a freak he really was, terrified of a rejection, terrified of losing Percy. He was not even talking about a romantic rejection, but the thought was just as heart-stopping.

He didn't. He didn't want to lose Percy. It didn't matter that he didn't love him like he did, like he had; it didn't matter that Percy had reasons to want to just disembarrass himself from the son of Hades, it didn't matter just how pathetic and needy it sounded, but he didn't want to lose Percy. He just didn't want to.

Sure, Jason knew, but it was different. He wasn't as fond of Jason as he was with Percy, he hadn't known Jason for as long as he had known Percy, he hadn't been in love with the son of Jupiter, and most importantly, he hadn't been the one willing to tell Jason in the first place. It was just different; there was no point of comparison.

Which brought us to the fact that apart Jason and himself, no-one knew that little, dirty secret of his.

No-one knew and better yet, he wouldn't allow anyone to know.

It just . . . It was just wrong.

Being gay, really? Did he really have to be gay? But it was just obvious. It was just _obvious_. He had to be. He sure had to be homosexual. He had to be because everything in his fucking life was twisted, _he_ had to be because _he_ was wrong, defective, faulty and ultimately, twisted.

He didn't even want to know what would happen if his father so much as _heard_ a rumor of him being homosexual. He, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, the Ghost King, gay?

He sighed tiredly.

That couldn't happen. He couldn't let that happen. If his father heard notice . . . Hades would probably kill him and create a brand new place in Tartarus for him to pass eternity in. He had to keep it secret.

It was . . . It was just the sanest thing, the safest. It was the best also. For him, and maybe for others too, to not let them know how wrong their comrade –if he even deserved the name– was, how demented and how wrenched he really was.

He knew things had changed. Homosexuality wasn't viewed as something that wrong now. Homosexuals weren't killed as they had been back to World War II. They weren't considered a plague. In fact, homosexuality was something pretty much accepted in the US; most states actually permitted homosexuals to get married and even to adopt children–not that he was interested in so for the time being, but if the moment ever came . . . In the name of Zeus, what was he thinking?

He raised both of his hands and gripped his temples, slowly drawing circles with his thin fingers. He grimaced, feeling the beginning of a headache already starting to throb in his bonce.

That thought was just stupid, senseless. Him? A family, a lover? Children?

No . . . That was just . . . just . . . impossible. He wouldn't get that . . . Never. He . . . he knew. That was not happening.

For someone to fall in love with him? No. Period. Death point. He didn't deserve it. For him to just get the bare acceptance of someone was more than enough, more than he could expect. And he was fine with it, he really was.

He'd come to accept that thought, that fact. He'd come to familiarize himself with the knowledge of him being rejected, different, dissimilar. No, he really was fine with it.

But . . . once in a while, even if it wasn't conscious, even if it wasn't something he wanted to think about he would find himself wondering –wondering because it was all he could even dream of getting– what . . . what did it feel like, to have someone that you'd be certain to love, and that loved you back, someone that would hold you close, with no fear of . . .

«Stop!» he told to himself, almost desperately. He had to stop. It was pointless. It was just so fucking pointless!

He couldn't think of that. He couldn't _allow_ himself to think about something like that. It was . . . It was just senseless, pointless, worthless . . .

He was not going to get something like that, he couldn't even expect it. It was . . . It was impossible, for saying the least. Impossible. That was not happening to _him_.

He sighed once again, this time more tiredly than before.

He distantly heard the well-known sound of a seashell that called all the demigods at Camp Half-Blood for dinner.

He grunted throaty, unwilling to walk outside, unwitting to feel the anything-but discreet stares the other demigods would give him.

He wasn't even hungry, he thought, and even he couldn't help but notice with sarcasm how he had just complained about his pale skin and low weight and was now opposing to go outside, where the shinning sun and warm food would be waiting for him.

He sure didn't want to leave his cabin, only place where he was alone and he felt slightly safe, even when his whole plans for the night would be to ruminate about how pathetic and miserable his life was.

He didn't want that either. Didn't want to stay there in his miserable corner alone with his thoughts. It was simply pathetic.

He grunted in distaste as he slowly, almost reluctantly, forced himself up the mattress and walked to the black door, sighing almost negligibly before he pulled it open, blinking owlishly at the bright sunshine that immediately filled the room.

He really was tempted to just close the damn door again and stay inside, where the light wasn't so fucking shiny, but he forced himself outside instead.

The son of Hades closed the door behind him, his gaze fixed upon his black shoes as he started walking to the tables, ignoring everyone else and kicking violently the unfortunate rocks that so much as happened to be in his way.

That was until he approached Cabin 7.

He heard the door being violently pulled open and then hurried steps, but don't pay attention to it until he hated how name being called.

"Hey, Nico!" Someone said. Oh, damn. He knew that sweet, cheaply voice. Solace. "Nico, wait!"

He stopped walking, obeying the Apollo's demigod and not even bothering to rise his gaze or to turn to him, just waiting for the demigod to have something important to say and to say it fast.

"Gods, I thought you hadn't heard me" Will said casually as soon as he was standing next to him.

"Would've liked to" he muttered quietly and much to his surprise, he heard the son of Apollo chuckling. He had a sweet, cheery laugh.

"Fine, fine, I get it" he said and Nico could easily tell he was trying to keep the smile of his lips. He grunted in response. "You don't want to see me."

"Well, Solace" he muttered "if you already know that I still don't get why is it that you called me."

"If you stopped complaining I would get to that point" the son of Apollo replied, and when the younger didn't answer anything he continued. "I have something you might want to take a look at. So if you could cooperate a little and followed me to my cabin . . ." he suggested coolly, earning a distrusting glance from his interlocutor. "C'mon Nico" he said, smiling slightly at him, his appearance the one of complete calmness "Don't look at me like that, I'm not trying to hurt you."

Slowly, rather with the mannerisms of someone who was forced to he derogated from the path he was following down to the pavilion and retraced his steps, with the son of Apollo silently smiling by his side.

When they finally made it to the golden cabin, he sent a mistrusting glance to the door.

"Oh, gods, just come in!" Will shouted from the inside, noticing how his companion had stayed by the door. "It's not like I'm gonna kidnap you or something." That said, Nico grunted in response, but walked inside either way to find the son of Apollo standing in front of a big, wooden desk and smiling openly to him.

"So" Will started slowly "I've noticed how you seem to always have these visible bags under your eyes and–"

"And you made me come here to criticize my physical appearance?" Nico interrupted scornfully.

"No, not really" he replied calmly. "So, as I was saying, you have these rather dark bags under your eyes and they always happen to make you look tired, so I was thinking that you could–"

"I don't need you telling be that I look like shit, alright?" He muttered sternly.

"Hey, Nico, calm down" he said simply, not doing so much as rising one of his blonde brows in something that could be either concern or surprise, but his voice was only soothing, anything but judgmental, anything but what Nico expected. "We don't want skeletons rising from the ground, right?" He teased, his tone holding a note of humor, but none of taunt. "Just breathe. In, out. In, out" he added, noting how fast the young demigod's chest seemed to be going.

"I know how to fucking breathe!" He retorted harshly.

"Sorry then" Will answered, not sounding sorry but rather . . . concerned. "And watch your language."

"Why the heck would I–?" But he was cut off suddenly when he raised his eyes to meet the concerned yet commanding stare of the sun of Apollo.

"Just because it does not, in any form, sounds nice to have you swearing around like some kind of gangster." He explained matter-of-factly. "And" he continued "I would also appreciate it if you managed to remain silent enough for me to finish my sentence."

Nico dedicated him a dismissive look, same Will ignored completely, while he turned around and walked over to the desk which was placed in front of a huge window that somehow always seemed to be facing the sun and which multiples artifacts over it made it look like a mad scientist's work-table.

"I was saying that you could use a little bit more of the sleep you seem to be losing" he moved some containers until he came across the one he was looking for: a long, thin, glass bottle that held some white, oval, long pills, same he gripped in his right hand and then offered to Nico once he was facing him again.

The son of Hades looked at him dubiously, not reaching for the pills.

"Solace, I'm pretty sure I do not need any–" but he was soon interrupted by the melodic voice of the older half-blood.

"Oh, gods, would you stop calling me by the last-name, it's just annoying!" He said, oblivious to the resentful glance the son of Hades sent him, opting for smiling openly at him instead.

"Well, Solace, probably _I'm_ simply annoying then" The son of Hades retorted utterly deadpan.

"No, not you" the son of Apollo replied simply moving his hands in a gesture that aimed to discard that possibility. "Just the last-name thing. I mean, you wouldn't want me calling you 'di Angelo' each time I came around you, would you?"

"It's my name" he answered, completely matter-of-factly. "I don't care what you call me." He replied, which just happened to be true.

"Yeah, it sure is your name" Will accepted "But it's your _last-name_ not your actual name, to be called by it is, well, it is impersonal and . . . It's just weird!" He concluded, rising both of his hands to emphasize his words.

Nico grunted in response, which didn't seem to be appreciated by the sun of Apollo. Finally, he spoke again, his voice hoarse and not very kind.

"So what does this magic pills have? A fucking spell?" He wondered sarcastically.

"Language, Nico!" He repeated, ignoring his question and using a tone that almost reminded of a teacher's. "It's not that hard!" His only answer was a throaty growl and then he added. "A good magician never reveals his secrets, right?" He said, smiling brightly at the son of Hades, which only earned her a dubious look from him.

"Thought you were a doctor?" He inquired deadpan. "Leave the magician thing for the Hecate cabin."

Will chuckled, the sound of his laugh a melodious and cheerful one. Nico almost snorted at the thought. Of course, he was the son of the god of music after all.

"Well, well, then I'll have to say that 'a good doctor never reveals his secrets' I guess" he smiled, the corners of his lips twitching in a playful grin. "And you were the one that started talking about spells in first place"

Still, he only got a sever look from the son of Hades.

"It's okay" he said, his expression changing to a warmer one, even when he kept that playful gleam in his sky-blue eyes. "I'm a medic here, I'm not trying to kill you."

Nico looked at him distrustful manner, his dark-browns orbs piercing him with his strong gaze.

"Hey, Nico, I've healed a few wounds of yours by now, I think you can trust me not to get you killed, right?" He offered, smiling at him warmly, his right hand placed neatly in his hip, while his left one offered him a tiny jar filled with oval pills.

Well, that much was true. He'd been unconscious, bad-injured and half-way to death in the presence of the son of Apollo, who'd been kind and attentive enough to restore him his health, which wouldn't be viewed as such by others, given that he was not the best-looking person.

He grunted, slowly rising his right hand to grip the container, still sending glances, first to the son of Apollo and then to the medicine until he finally placed the transparent container in his right pocket.

"Nico, if you don't mind me asking" Will said suddenly, his tone much more serious than what it had been until then "Why is it that you are sleeping so little?" he wondered worriedly, noting more than ever how dark his eye bags were now that the son of Hades was so close.

He had a point. What kept him from sleeping? Nightmares. Nightmares did. And his own thoughts and musings, but that was not something that the son of Apollo would be interested in.

"Nothing" he muttered sternly, denying slowly by moving his head to the sides.

"Well, that's not what it seems" the son of Apollo pointed out.

He almost snorted in disgust. "Then what does it look like, Solace?"

"Like something is keeping you up" he replied steadfastly.

"And what if it is?" Nico retorted, fed up with what he considered to be just a lame act of pity.

"Then you should probably get rid of it in favor of you sleeping more" he answered calmly.

He grunted ill-temperedly. "Maybe I can't." he said sharply, making Will's cerulean eyes shine with something that seemed concern.

They remained in silence for a moment, Will's eyes open and honest while Nico nearly pierced him with his deadpanned stare.

Finally, the son of Hades denied by moving his head slowly to the sides, breaking the eye-contact and turning his dark orbs to the floor again.

"If that's all you wanted, Solace" he said seriously, "I'm leaving."

That said, he directed himself to the door awkwardly, not very sure about how to proceed.

Even so, he was just starting to raise his hand to grip the iron knob when he heard the fast movements of the son of Apollo behind him and Will was soon gripping his left wrist, enabling him to go any further.

"Hey" he said, with a voice that suddenly wasn't as confident and sounded rather nervous. "Can you–? I need to–"

Slowly, the son of Hades turned to face the son of Apollo, his dark brows rising in confusion.

They looked into one another's eyes, almost without blinking. The son of Hades let his eyes wander in the demigod´s countenance, vaguely noticing his blonde, tangled hair, his arched brows, his heavy breathing, his beautiful cerulean eyes, his slightly parted lips that were slowly approaching his own, his . . . Wait, _what_?

The son of Hades' eyes widened in confusion and surprise, his body suddenly frozen, enabling him to jerk away from the other half-blood, that slowly, as if not to scare him, yet surely, bent over, raising his left hand to slightly brush his fingertips against the Ghost King's cheekbone just as their lips meet gently, their kiss being a mere encounter before Nico pulled away by stepping back, swallowing hard, his dark orbs widened in horror and confusion, his brow furrowed and his expression one that was half-way between anger and fear.

"Exactly what in Hera's name do you think you're doing, Solace?" he stormed, almost screaming, his voice bordering panic.

"I– I am–" the son of Apollo sighed heavily, covering his eyes with his left hand. "Listen, I'm– I'm just sorry" he blurted when he had opened his eyes again, an expression of actual regret and nervousness in his features.

"_What_ was that for?" he insisted, stepping back again, enable to bring himself to break the eye-contact with the son of Apollo, who just happened to have blushed to the very same tips of his blonde locks.

Will forced a smile that seemed troubled, his beautiful eyes giving a nervous look to the dark ones of the son of Hades, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Nico frowned, aware of the anxious expression of the other demigod, which looked completely misplaced in Will's face comparing it to his confident smile and sure gaze.

"Are you even planning of answering?" He inquired, his voice holding a note of coldness, his confusion suddenly forgotten.

He took a nervous intake of breath before he talked again. Finally, he clapped his hands together in front of him, absently playing with his fingers and then shuddered.

"Okay, I'll say this once because I think you are intelligent enough to get it, alright?" He started, earning a confused glance from Nico's dark eyes, but not been able to see it, his own orbs fixes in the floor. He sighed slowly, before raising his eyes again self-consciously, meeting Nico's just for a heart-beat before fixing then in the wall next to the son Hades' head. "I–" he doubted "I-think-I-like-you" he blurted out as fast as his tongue allowed him, turning his eyes to the floor just as the last letter escaped his lips.

The son of Hades stepped back once again, raising his arms, his palms extended, his fingers spread out as if trying to protect himself from the leader of Cabin 7.

That declaration was something he didn't expect, he felt the capacity of breathing leaving his chest as he started to take fast intakes of air, his heart's pace fastening with each passing second, making it even harder to listen to his thoughts as the only sound that he could hear suddenly seemed to be his very own heart.

"Listen, Solace" he muttered sharply as he tried to get a hold of himself "If you are playing a fucking prank on me you'd better–"

"No" he interrupted him firmly, his voice disembarrassed from his earlier nervousness while he raised his eyes once more, his expression honest and trusting like always "That's not it, I swear." He paused, suddenly self-conscious again "I– I wouldn't be saying this if it wasn't important and if I wasn't–"

"Drop it" Nico commanded, sending him a dead-panned look, too busy trying to figure out his own inner turmoil for caring about Will's; even so, he couldn't help the note of terror that his cold voice hid.

"No, you have to listen to–"

"No!" he snapped, maddened at the way the other demigod's eyes seemed to be shifting nervously. "You do not–"

"No, Nico" Will interrupted him, his expression leaving the doubt behind and appearing sure of himself and his words again. "I mean what I said."

They stared into the eyes of the other one again, their paces fastened, eyes widened in expectance of what was coming next.

"Don't" Nico snarled suddenly, his tone a menacing one, not even sure about the reason for his anger.

"Why?" the son of Apollo asked with confusion, still, he couldn't help the challenging tone in his voice.

He liked Nico, he really did. He liked his eyes so dark that seemed black but that when you bothered to look closer reveled to be a very obscure shade of brown, his alabaster skin, his dark-curly hair, the way he was always trying to put up the appearance of a cold, distant person albeit keeping a glimpse of emotion in the bottom of his eyes, but so hidden it was hard to realize it. Gods, he even liked the way he seemed to enjoy to use sarcasm and satirize everything, the way his lips twisted in that devious smirk of his. He plainly liked him, and he knew he was aiming high, but he had decided to take his bet and expect a good result.

He'd been thinking of doing this for a while now, thinking of how to just say the words, of ways to express his feelings. Things such as writing poems or songs had been discarded upon the fact that it was unlikely for Nico to appreciate something like that.

In the end the idea that came out as a winner was that one: to just say it. Even though, it didn't seem like he was going anywhere right then, with the anxious look the son of Hades had fixed upon his young features and his own incapacity to say what he thought at the moment.

Really, if Nico would just cooperate somehow, if everything was as easy as in the movies, if he could just wrap his arms around the son of Hades' waist and kiss him chastely, being sure that he would not reject him, knowing that he was corresponded. If Nico would just say how he felt about what he had just said instead of just trying to leave the matter, then everything would be easier.

But then again, if the son of Hades' wasn't a constant challenge then he probably wouldn't have fallen head-first over him.

He was driven away from his musings by Nico's hoarse voice.

"Just do it" he said, not noticing how his voice sounded shaky. "Retract or just forget it. That's not even possible."

"Why not?" Will insisted, this time aware of the own insecurity in the younger's voice.

"Because–" he breathed shakily "Just no! It's simply twisted. _I_ am twisted!" he completed, his eyes falling to the ground, his voice rising until it was an unsteady outcry.

Will fixed his gaze in his smaller form, noticing how small shrieks seemed to be running down his spine. He shuddered with compassion. There, that was what he'd achieved with his words, scaring the son of Hades.

But then another fact made its way slowly to his mind. Nico had said that '_it_ was twisted' which could mean he was talking about what he had just confessed to him, but he'd immediately added that '_he_ was twisted', and Will wasn't about what the significance of the words were.

Was he talking about himself plainly? Or was he talking about being homosexual?

Although, chances were that he was the only homosexual in the room.

He _was_ aiming high, not only confessing his love to someone, but to someone of his very same gender, he knew. Still, he had decided that that was the very essence of love, the intrigue about whether if it was corresponded or not. That was why he had just blurted out the words, rather nervous and unceremoniously for a son of the god of poetry.

He sighed, nervously taking a step forward, noticing how the younger demigod tensed. He slowly placed his right hand over Nico's left shoulder gripping it firmly but without going as far as to hurt him when he tried to jerk away from him.

"Nico . . ." he called out softly. "If you are saying this because we are both males–"

"It's wrong, it's just wrenched!" he murmured, his voice covering with desperation.

"No" he assured gently, raising his hand to kindly stroke the boy's left cheek, gripping his chin and forcing him to meet his gaze. "Haven't you heard the myth of Ganymede?" he asked, not waiting for an answer as he continued talking. "One of Zeus' affairs was a guy" he guaranteed confidently, which earned him a surprised look from the son of Hades.

True to tell, Nico wasn't aware of that story, in case it actually existed, but for him it was just the same. If that myth was true and Zeus had been related to a male in that kind of way, he still doubted it would be considered okay or even slightly normal, due to how it was still unnatural for two people of the same gender to be together. And he specially doubted that his father would mind that his own younger brother Zeus had been in a relationship with a guy. Better yet, he was pretty sure that the god of the dead would _not_ appreciate it. Which completely left the only other possible answer to his inner turmoil: _he_ was twisted, _he_ was wrong.

That still wasn't explaining what the son of Apollo had said. He'd said 'I like you' and then he'd assured he really did mean his earlier words. That was just . . . impossible, to say the least.

Will Solace –the shiny, bright, cheerful, brilliant– Will Solace could not, in any way, shape or form be gay. And, even if that was the case –and somehow the thought of _him_ being gay was not as bothering and revolting as the thought of himself being gay was–, he could not feel . . . attracted to him. No, that was not possible. Dead space.

No matter what the son of Apollo said, it was impossible. Im-po-ssi-ble.

"Just the same" he muttered dismissively "I am twiste–"

"No" Will reassured firmly. "You are who you are, and that is nothing to be ashamed about."

Nico's dark eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not–" but his voice broke off when he realized the true that the son of Apollo's words held. He _was_ ashamed. Ashamed of himself, of him being gay, of his physical appearance, of his bad looks, of his low weight, of his sudden mood changes; ashamed of himself, all in all. But that was not something that the oh, so perfect Will Solace could understand, with the whole camp trusting him with their life, both literally and metaphorically.

"Yes you are, and it's not going to take you anywhere" the son of Apollo murmured confidently, pressing his extended palm against Nico's cheek and stroking it gently while he raised his free hand to grip Nico's, squeezing it slightly. "Let me show you just how not-twisted you are" he whispered softly as he slowly bent down, swiftly brushing his lips against Nico's again.

But mere milliseconds later, the son of Hades was stepping back, jerking away from him, almost fidgeting nervously–wait, that was what he was doing.

"Drop it, Solace" he said, trying to make his voice sound menacing, but only managing to pull out a shaky statement.

"Nico, I–" Will started, but was cut off suddenly.

"Don't" Nico said, while the few shadows that the bright sunlight allowed in the room thickened around his small body and then just disappeared.

Unexpectedly left alone, Will sighed. Gods, he really was stupid wasn't he? He knew how unpredictable Nico was, but no, he had to go and do exactly what he knew would unsettle the boy. How clever he was.

Well, he had expected him to be mad, to grunt a little, maybe even to snarl at him. What he hadn't expected was that shakiness in his voice, that tremor in his tone, that look of fear in his eyes.

He sighed again, this time in a defeated manner.

He should just . . . give him time, sure. Nico needed time, that could be so easily said by the panic look in his eyes . . . He did, too. Having said something like that so surprisingly. He hadn't planned to confess his feelings to the son of Hades right then and there it just . . . kind of happened.

He denied, moving his head to the sides, disturbing his blonde locks in the process, but not very conscious of it.

He materialized again in Cabin 13, stumbling violently due to his confusion, much like he had when he had just been learning to take control of his powers but managing to keep standing somehow.

That was awkward. Awkward and strange and wrong. But then, why didn't it _feel_ wrong.

He shakily sat down on the black duvet from his bed, walking pass the empty beds absently.

He had kissed Will Solace. Wait, that was not it. Will Solace had kissed him. And that thought was even more troubling, because it meant that the son of Apollo somehow, somewhat, sort of, probably had been serious with what he'd said.

That thought was something he still was not ready to face yet.

What if the son of Apollo was just playing a joke with him, with his feelings? Wait a second, what feelings? He did not, in any way or form harbor feelings for the leader of Cabin 7. Sure, he was thankful, he had saved his life a couple of times, but that was all.

He surely was not attracted to the other half-blood. Well, he was in fact good-looking, with his tanned arms and his blonde hair, with his sparkly sky-blue eyes and his–wait, what in Hera's name was he thinking?

No. He certainly was not feeling anything for Will Solace.

His thoughts suddenly stopped while he took notice of how even his name sounded melodious, like if there was a rhyme hidden somewhere in his–

«Stop it!» he awkwardly thought to himself, his hands turning into fists.

He was not sure about how he felt with the demigod's declaration. He hadn't even stopped to think about what he felt towards the son of Apollo, let alone how he felt with the son of Apollo saying he liked _him_. Why him, in the name of Olympus?

It had to be a joke, it had to be. Someone like Will Solace most certainly wouldn't look at someone like him with such eyes.

Still, he was pretty sure that unless he was actually going crazy, those things had happened.

Will wasn't the type to go around playing cruel pranks to others. He was very mature for his age, having had to deal with the responsibility of his injured comrades and the lives of those comrades. He wouldn't go around joking and playing with the feelings of others. He wouldn't do something like that. Well, unless he was very, very mistaken and had come to trust a very good liar.

But . . . he was sure that his eyes had been honest, honest and open and trusting, like they always had been, a slight look of worry in the bottom of them.

Will wasn't lying, Will wouldn't lie like that.

And if the son of Apollo wasn't lying . . . That meant that his words had been honest. And his words had been ones about feelings. One in specific. His words had been about love.

The thought made his heart skip a beat.

No, he couldn't . . . He couldn't risk getting a crush on Will Solace . . . That was just dangerous and emotionally suicidal. It was risky to allow himself to fall head-first for someone who would never correspond his–

Wait . . . he had just come across the realization that Will wasn't lying, and if Will wasn't lying that drove to a part in which Will meant that he liked him when the words had left his lips, and if that was so, there was no need to find anything risky because it was not. It had been dangerous rather for the son of Apollo to speak aloud his feelings, not for him, who was just there wondering if those feelings even existed and were to be returned to the son of Apollo.

He shakily took an intake of breath.

Will meant it. Will . . . liked him, nevertheless how weird and distant the thought was.

Will liked him.

He insecurely raised his left hand to brush his fingertips over slightly parted lips.

Will meant it, he liked _him_.

N.A.

So... how did that go?

This was supposed to be a one-shot, but now that I have it here... I had to split it in two.

Expect the next chapter soon!

And please do not forget to comment and review to tell me what do you think!

Love you all!


	2. If Only

I'm _so_ sorry it took this long to update! I really thought I would have this finished like a week ago! I had most of it in my brain, I mean, the idea, but it was much harder to write it down than I first thought it would be. And them vacations were over and I had to write it meanwhile attending to school and homeworks and... well, it was just complicated, but I can _finally_ say I have it finished!

I finished this yesterday, but it was like ten minutes ago that I finished rereading it and corecting.

Please enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter 2_

_If Only . . ._

* * *

It had been three days since the son of Apollo had said . . . Well, said _that_. Three whole days, and they surely hadn't been Nico's greatest.

He was currently in his cabin, his gaze fixed upon the black wood from the roof, as he was laying completely awake on his bed.

The bags under his eyes were now more noticeable than ever since he had slept much less than what he usually did, which dropped that amount dangerously, due to the fact that he hadn't much of sleep to lose in the first place.

And someone might be asking, well hadn't he got some sort of magical pills that were supposed to make him sleep more? Yes, the thing was that the transparent container was laying over the ebony bureau that stood next to his bed, empty, the pills that it had held long-gone.

True to tell, they _had_ worked, for the first two days. The thing was that he was far too nervous to sleep, and the he had practically consumed half of the medicine during the first night, knowing he would be completely unable to sleep if he did otherwise. He'd done the same the next day, and by the third day, he had no more pills left, which was the logical explanation as to why was he so sleep depraved.

The other reason to his insomnia run by the name of William Solace and he certainly liked that reason better. No, wait; he didn't _like_ him. He meant that the one that he thought was responsible for his sleep loss was him, not "like" in a romantic way. But he didn't _dislike_ him either . . .

Well, he did.

The son of Apollo was the reason to his insomnia and to why his heart was racing at the simple thought of him. And he did dislike _that_.

But he liked him, liked his graceful manners, his confident smile, the way the right side of his lower lip seemed to rise more than the left, the soothing tone of his voice his . . . Him, plain and simple.

But he didn't like him. He did, just not in the romantic sense of the words just like–Argh.

And then people asked why he didn't sleep enough.

He hadn't been able to keep the son of Apollo of his mind. Or maybe it was the words that he had so fondly said. Or maybe he was just not trying hard enough. Or maybe a part of him simply didn't even want to keep the son of Apollo from his mind.

He grunted scornfully.

No, that was most certainly _not_ it. He _wanted_ to keep him off mind, and of his thoughts, and of his musings and most importantly of his _feelings_.

No, wait. His feelings weren't involved yet. No, wait again. That made it sound as if there was a chance for him to fall into the son of Apollo, and there was not.

No, wait again. There was.

No, no, no, there was not! There couldn't be. He couldn't allow them to be. He just . . . no . . .

He'd been thinking hard –like really, really hard– on what Will had said. Oh, and last-minute news, he'd started calling him by his first name instead of the last, as the son of Apollo had so nicely requested.

Either way, the words that the son of Apollo had said had been repeating themselves in his mind, even as he tried as hard as he could to stop them from doing so.

_I like you_.

He grunted, yet again as he turned in the cold bed, pulling the black comforter up to cover his face, same that was currently bright-red colored.

For not making the story endlessly long –like the three previous nights– he'd tried to familiarize himself with those simple yet so complex three words.

_I like you_.

It had taken around half a day to even _consider_ that as a possibility, leave _accepting it_ alone, and though the simple thought was still weird and strange, if not as distant as the beginning, it was a different kind of strange, one that made his heart start racing, one that placed a pinkish color in his oh, so pallid features.

Could it . . . Could it be that he actually . . ?

To honor the truth, the son of Apollo had said that he meant his words, and a part of him couldn't help but believe them, even as another part of him insisted in that it was dangerous and nonsense to consider that possibility and continued to scream that something like that was completely impossible, and a tiny –really tiny– part of him still said, still screamed that it –the son of Apollo liking him, he liking the son of Apollo back, both, homosexuality plain and simple– was _wrong_.

And that was something that got him thinking too,

He had long ago assumed and even learnt to accept the fact that _he_ was wrong, but Will Solace, son of Apollo, leader from Cabin 7, and _wrong_ just didn't belong in the same sentence.

_He_ was wrong, he knew, but to consider that the oh, so perfect son of Apollo was wrenched and twisted in the exact same way that he was . . . Well . . . it had him thinking that maybe, just maybe . . . Maybe it wasn't so wrong after all.

But then again, logically thinking, it was simply wrong, it was _unnatural_, plain and simple, that was why there were two sexes, to complement each other; that was why a relationship between two people of the same gender wouldn't get too far.

And yet, if it was all that wrong and wrenched, all that insane and unnatural, why was it that it didn't _feel_ wrong? Why was it that the only small, tiny glimpse of joy and calmness that he felt in his life was when the son of Apollo was near him or when he so much as thought about him, about his kind smile and smooth voice?

Why was it that he felt his heart racing and his face heating at the simple thought of the son of Apollo, even when he knew it was just not right? Why was it that he had stopped caring about what the others might think and he only wanted to stay with what he himself thought of the matter? And why, oh why was it that he could find _nothing_ wrong with it, with any of it?

If anything, Will's presence, Will's silent promise of support and _love_ only made everything seem better, _fine_, no matter how hard he tried to deny that to himself or to prove himself wrong or to find a good reason to continue telling himself those things, same that only made him feel worthless and impotent and that currently seemed like white lies, like plain bullshit.

He distantly heard the vague sound of the alarm clock that was neatly placed next to his bead.

A part of him wondered why did he even bothered to keep that useless thing if he was already awake –more like not-even-asleep– when it sounded. Honestly, he could go perfectly fine without it, seeing as he didn't need to sleep either.

Fine, that much wasn't true.

He had been alright for then, but he was aware that it would only take around two days more for him to start having hallucinations or even to simply pass out. He groaned, pulsing the "off" button on the clock absentmindedly.

He knew he would find himself unable to sleep unless he could stop those thoughts from entering his mind.

He was also aware that there was only one way in which he would be able to get back whatever little sleep he usually had. That way was getting his mind, with those little voices that never really seemed to let him alone to shut up. _And_ there was only one way to achieve that.

Well, more accurately there were two: he could either get more somniferous –which he was certainly _not_ doing because that would necessarily include facing the same person that was haunting his thoughts and stopping him from being at ease at the moment– or he could simply get things straight, pull his shit together and plainly go to talk with the son of Apollo.

He sarcastically noted the nonsense line that his thoughts were following, seeing as he had just assured his first option was discarded due to the fact that it included speaking to the exact same person he was certain he didn't want to talk to, and then his second brilliant idea was to simply go and talk to the son of Apollo straightforwardly.

Fine, he thought bitterly, there was only one way to go out of his little vicious circle, and it was the one that he didn't want to face: to talk with the leader from Cabin 7.

With that settled, there was something else bothering.

In the remote –very remote, in fact– case that he actually went up to the son of Apollo to "talk" to him, what in Hades –wait, better to keep his father out of this–, what in Hera's name would he say?

How about him confidently walking up to him and plainly saying that he still believed that even the possibility of them in a romantic relationship was revolting and completely out of sight?

He unwittingly grunted in response to the thought. He was not certain about whether he liked Will or not, but he sure as Hell did _not_ like that idea.

But then again, there was that tiny voice telling him that if he was contemplating the possibility of _something_ between the son of Apollo and him he should first come across a fact that quite frankly wasn't his chosen.

He was gay.

If he were to be honest with himself, that was the main –real– reason for his incapacity to get to sleep, and blaming it on the member of Cabin 7 was just his coward way to get the blame out of himself.

He was not ready to accept that, he was not ready to accept that thought completely, and to accept that his heart went pounding at the simple thought of the son of Apollo, to face that a part of him was wanting to just go to him and unceremoniously blurt out an 'I do too' to the blonde boy, to accept that he might just like Will back in some degree would mean that he was fully taking the first statement in as a fact.

He was gay.

Dead point. No more running away, no more hiding from it, no more denying. He was, he was a complete homosexual and he might just like the son of Apollo back.

He took a shaky intake of breathe. He felt as if his heart were being held by a gigantic hand that enabled him to breathe freely.

No more denying, he _was_ a homosexual.

The thought seemed to put everything around him to silence, even the voices –that were actually his own– and that wanted to continue screaming about how _wrong_ he was stopped; with that much of silence, the atmosphere around him almost seemed tenser, heavier, which only made breathing even harder to him.

Right then, the well-known sound of sea shell was heard through the camp. They were calling for breakfast.

He groaned in response. He didn't want to get up and stand outside. He was not even hungry and he hadn't slept; he was certainly not his best mood for socializing.

A growl from his stomach dared him to repeat the statement about him not being hungry and he refrained himself from grunting again. He was in fact hungry; the night before he hadn't stopped to eat dinner, and he was seriously considering to repeat his _modus operandi_ currently, but it seemed that his body was not very pleased with the idea.

It was truth that he avoided going out of his cabin when he stayed at the camp on a regular basis, but during the last three days he'd avoided it more than ever, going as far as to jump meals and activities in favor of staying inside, shielded from everyone and ruminating over what had happened.

As sociable as he was, no-one had missed him. Chiron had knocked once at the door, just to confirm he wasn't sick or had left the camp without warning. Percy had come the day before, asking what was wrong, but he had left too after the reluctance from the son of Hades to open the door, but Nico was sure he would be back that day unless something else enabled him to do so.

Fortunately enough, William Solace had kept himself away from his cabin, and even if a part of Nico yelled he should have been the first one knocking at his door, most of him was fairly happy with having the son of Apollo at some distance, which was the first reason as to why he hadn't left his cabin in those three horrid days.

Another growl from his stomach reminded him that it had been enough of the leader from Cabin 7 and that his number one worry should be getting his lazy ass out of bed and get breakfast.

He made a throaty sound of distaste as he slowly raised himself from his bed. The night before he hadn't even bothered to change his clothes, which meant he was still wearing his dark jeans and his black t-shirt with a motif of skulls.

Around ten minutes after he had decided to actually go eat something –same that he wasn't very sure about what they had been inverted in since he hadn't even bothered to make his bed or even comb his hair, which was hanging lazily around him as he ignored his wrinkled shirt– he was standing outside of his cabin, awkwardly walking down the path that followed to the dining pavilion, his small frame disappearing rapidly into the crowd of loud teenagers.

As usual, no-one bothered him, most of the campers plainly ignoring him and drawing themselves to a prudent distance from the son of Hades, who did just as much, his gaze fixed upon his black Converse tennis shoes.

He managed to make it to de dining pavilion without any inconvenient, inwardly thanking the gods for being so much of an antisocial so that nobody had interrupted his thoughts.

True to say, there was only one person in the whole camp who he was deliberately avoiding.

He didn't even dared to rise his gaze to the table from Cabin 7, hoping, really hoping to just slip by unnoticed to Will and to practically everyone else.

The meal lapsed pretty normally –he'd managed to get the nymphs to trust him enough to not kill them, and now the girl only trembled slightly under his gaze–, with the noisy teenagers screaming from one corner to the other and from one table to the surrounding ones. Everything around him were screams and loud laughter.

He didn't mind it too much, seeing as he had wanted something to distract himself from his own thoughts, and the scrambled eggs –which he was playing with rather than eating– wouldn't have been that much of a distraction.

That was until breakfast was over. He heard footsteps behind him, but didn't pay much attention to them, thinking it was Percy; he didn't even bother to wait until the newcomer introduced himself.

"I'm just fine, Percy" he grunted rather scornfully, not turning to dawn on how it was not the son of Poseidon.

"Not him" a cheerful, well-known voice said.

He almost choked himself as his eyes widened slightly. Not the camper form Cabin 3. It was the one and only person he did not want to see.

"Solace" he stated as he slowly, almost reluctantly, turned around to face him.

The blonde boy smiled at him cheerily, walked up to the table and rested his right arm confidently on the wooden piece of furniture, so that he was standing right in front of Nico, looking down at him –whose piercing gaze he was trying hardly to ignore–, the difference of heights between both of them accentuated by how Nico was still sitting in the bench and Will was standing up.

"We need to talk" he finally said, noting yet again how Nico was not the greatest speaker in Camp Half-Blood. Refrain

He squinted at him, his dark eyes piercing him, as if the son of Hades was deciding how was the best way to kill him and hide his body. Will refrained a shudder.

"I have nothing to talk to with you" he finally said, blinking that slightly terrifying look from his eyes.

"Yes you do" Will insisted. "You can at least say something like–"

"No, I don't" Nico repeated, his voice sounding a little strangled, as if he were breathing hardly.

To say that Will was just as nervous was an understatement. Of course he was nervous, nervous and confused and maybe even a little scared, but after waiting for three days to get an answer or some kind of sign from the son of Hades he had realized that if he waited for Nico to make the first move he would be most likely waiting forever. And that was not very appealing.

"You know you do" he asserted, refraining a tired sigh. "If only you could–"

"Stop it, Solace" Nico commanded sternly, sending a few glances to the other tables, in which the demigods had stopped minding their own business and were currently looking at them, puzzled by the behavior of both campers. "People are starting to stare."

"Let them" he responded simply, waving his left hand in a gesture that almost said 'They are not important'. "But answer me".

"There's nothing to answer" Nico hissed back, breaking eye contact for the first time. "You didn't ask anything."

"No, I didn't, but when someone says something like what I told you most people usually answer something like–"

"I'm not most people, Solace" he cut him off rather violently.

No, he sure was not most people; most people didn't look half as attractive as he did, even when he was completely oblivious to that fact.

Will sighed tiredly.

"Nico . . ." he started, but suddenly, the demigod he was talking to jumped up, almost causing the bench he'd been sitting in to fall to the ground and turned around, leaving him behind rapidly due to his exaggerated strides.

For a second or two all Will could do was literally nothing, left behind by the son of Hades, blinking in surprise as he had simply turned his back on him and fled, but after a blink or two he regained his composture and went right behind his not-so-willing-to-listen interlocutor, gripping the boy's left wrist in his right hand.

"Nico!" He called out, vaguely noticing the puzzled stares of the other campers "You can't be avoiding me forever, y'know?"

"Who says I can't?" The younger attacked back, troubled by the attention the son of Apollo was drawing on them and by the fact that he was being touched by him and specially bothered by how the only thing that he could think of were Will's cerulean eyes and how badly he wanted to repeat the infamous scene that had taken place in Cabin 7 three days aback.

"No you can't" Will insisted, as he pulled Nico's arm firmly, forcing him to turn around so he would face him, but his dark locks covered his eyes and his face was turned to the ground.

"I could stay in the Underworld forever and you –or anybody, for the matter– would never find me" the son of Hades stated.

Will refrained a sigh. There was something . . . Something in the younger's voice or in how he was avoiding his eyes that kept telling him that maybe, just maybe there was a slight possibility that his feelings were corresponded.

But, then again, with Nico's character it could have been just a polite way to say he was not interested in him.

There was only one way to disperse that doubt, and it was asking Nico straightforwardly what his feelings about him were.

But apparently 'straightforwardly' was not one of Nico's favorite words.

With his right hand he gripped the son of Hades' chin and forced him to meet gazes with him.

For a second he thought that he'd recognized fear in his dark orbs, as if there were something troubling him, something that terrified him and made him nervous, but it lasted for only a heart-beat before his eyes darkened and hardened with coldness.

"Listen, if there is the slight possibility that–" Will started but he interrupted himself as the fear he had seen came back to those dark eyes. Though he couldn't fully place it he was positive that he had seen it somewhere before. And then he knew–it was the fear of a caged animal.

"No" Nico hissed, as he tried to avoid eye contact.

"Nico–"

"I said no, Solace" he repeated, but there was something in his voice, something in his posture or in the way he tried to hide his gaze that made his words seem faked, as if every one of them had been thought carefully and then placed into the sentence.

Everything could be. Nico was not the greatest when it came to expressing feelings, so it could be that he was just being honest but didn't know how to say that all he really wanted was to get rid of him.

But it could also be, and Will was really hoping that it'd be this one rather than the previous, that he in fact felt something for him but didn't know how to put that into words.

He knew Nico was not the best went it came to social interaction. After everything he'd been through it was not a secret that he had a hard time trusting others and expressing emotions, in the remote case that he tried to explain himself, and a part of the son of Apollo felt guilty for making him endure so much pressure, but he knew that if he were to expect an answer he would have to bite some bullets and press Nico a little, even if he wasn't so sure to be willing to do something like that.

Suddenly, words that he hadn't even planned to say were leaving his mouth.

"Prove it" he murmured, almost too quietly for Nico to hear him.

"What are you–?"

"Prove that you want nothing to do with me and I'll leave" Will completed, placing both of his hands on the younger's shoulders.

"Solace, I–"

"Do it" he commanded, a little too more sternly that he had tried.

He felt his smaller frame stiffen under his touch while he looked at him right in the eye, forcing his own gaze to harden and ignore all the signs that pointed to how scared the son of Hades was and how cruel he was being with the boy.

Nico was biting his lips hardly and his dark eyes shone with fear, scanning through the son of Apollo's features, as if testing what to do next and searching for an escape route.

Yes, Will was still feeling guilty because he was aware that he was the only responsible for that frightened look in the boy's porcelain features, but a part of him couldn't help but notice how it also held doubt.

If Nico were really as uninterested in him as he said he was, he would have sent him flying without hesitance long time ago.

But he hadn't, and it was the same fact that worried him the one that made him had a glimpse of hope that the son of Hades might feel something for him. Most likely something that didn't quite fit in the 'corresponded feelings' but that was a something that could transform in that, and if he had the chance, then he would fight for it.

Nico didn't say anything, staring back at him silently, biting his lower lip furiously, his eyes shining with fear and something that seemed somewhere in between a plea and doubt.

Slowly, as if he wasn't even planning to, Will lent down, taking just a glimpse of those frightened dark eyes before he locked their lips.

He felt Nico tense even further when they first came to contact, and a part of him vaguely wondered how was that even possible. But slowly, after a second or two he felt the son of Hades relax against him.

Will was just starting to hope that Nico would correspond the gesture when a round of surprised and not-so-contained screams startled him.

Nico immediately broke the kiss, stepping back hurriedly and pushing him away, placing both of his hands in Will's chest. Still, Will managed to reach for his right hand and grip it.

Nico sent mortified glances to their surroundings, and then one last one, throbbing with hate, to Will.

Each and every camper in at least a kilometer radius had stopped their activities and turned to look at them, not even bothering to fake discretion, surprise and disgusted looks in their faces.

It happened all too fast for Will to even realize what was going on. Before he could even say or try to explain himself each and every shadow around them was coming closer, until it had concealed their bodies.

Honestly enough, the only thing that Nico wanted was to disappear. Quite literally. To disappear and never have to look at anyone ever again. Specially not William Solace.

So he did what he best knew how to do: he fled. He summoned the shadows around him and simply fled.

Unfortunately, he failed to remember that the son of Apollo was still gripping his right hand in his much larger ones.

"What the hell are you thinking?" he asked as soon as they materialized in the interiors of Hades' cabin, pulling his wrist free violently from Will's grip.

Will only whistled in response, ignoring the mad tone in Nico's voice. "Now, this is how Cabin 13 looks like from inside" he murmured as he calmly looked around the room, focusing on the vacant beds and black furniture.

"What's wrong with you?" Nico hissed between his clenched teeth, with the son of Apollo either not noting the menacing tone in his voice or deliberately deciding to ignore it.

"Hope nothing" he simply answered, as if he had not just kissed someone –someone the same sex than him, he mentally added– in front of half the camp, that someone being the threatening son of Hades, who had shadow-traveled him to his cabin and could summon an army of skeletons to kill him right then and there, which seemed quite likely currently. "Do I look sick to you?" He continued to tease calmly.

"You just kissed me!" Nico deadpanned, almost screaming as he gestured for the closed window. "In front of the whole camp!"

The whole camp? Really? Curious thing, Will really thought it had been just half of it.

"Yeah" he answered calmly. "And you responded."

"Of course I didn't–" Nico started, his voice dangerously nearing a hysteric tone.

"Well, that can be easily solved" he whispered, interrupting his interlocutor, extending his left hand and reaching for the son of Hades' waist, gently pulling his smaller frame against his own, locking their lips slowly.

It was just that, a simple encounter between their parted lips that Nico either responded nor pulled of immediately, his heart pounding even as he tried to stop it from doing so.

Nevertheless, he was the first one to pull away, breaking their kiss in a slow motion that allowed Will to hope hid reluctance.

"Drop it, Solace" he murmured, attempting to make his voice sound menacing, but failing as he was breathing hardly, trying to catch his breath. "And let me go!" he finally commanded, in something that was half-way an order and half-way a child tantrum; a very mad child's tantrum Will mentally added.

The son of Apollo did as asked, smiling ever so slightly as he pulled away without reluctance, which somewhat surprised the son of Hades, since for some strange reason was expecting him to resist.

"That certainly is being selfish" he said, widening his confident grin under the piercing gaze of Nico.

Nico narrowed his eyes dangerously. "What are you–?"

"Asking me to let you go when you are still clinging to me, Ghost King" Will interrumpted him, as he continued to smile.

"I'm not–" he began to argue, but was cut off suddenly when Will gestured for his arms and his eyes dropped, only to find that the son of Apollo was right. He _was_ clinging to Will, both of his arms tightened around the son of Apollo's waist, unconsciously pulling him closer to his body. His eyes widened slightly as he opened his mouth to retort something but was forced to close it almost immediately as he realized he had nothing to say.

He made a throaty sound akin to a growl as he slowly let his arms fall from Will's waist and to his sides, his hands now transformed into tight fists, his gaze falling miserably to the ground.

"Now, I didn't say I was bothered, did I?" Will teased sweetly, his smile evident in his voice as he ever so gently brushed his fingers over the younger's face, pulling a couple of dark locks behind his ear, bringing his brown eyes to view again; he then let his hand fall to the boy's chin and pulled it up gently, kindly forcing Nico to meet his gaze.

The beautiful dark orbs where shiny with an emotion that he couldn't fully place.

Still, at the back of that, he sure knew what blurred Nico's dark eyes–it was confusion, confusion and fear, like the eyes of a terrified caged animal. He shuddered slightly, forcing himself to look even deeper. Through all that hurt and puzzlement there was something else, something that wasn't all that negative. It was yearning, longing, it was the affection of a child that deserved to be loved and to love back, not judged and pushed apart.

He was overwhelmed by the desire, almost the need to protect that boy, that boy that could summon a complete army of powerful zombies and survive in the Underworld completely alone but that was still so frail-looking and so, so unforgivingly young.

Gods, if only he could pull him to his chest and assure him everything would be alright, if only he could be sure that Nico wouldn't push him away in favor of being left alone again, which was the reason as to why the boy looked so miserable and hurt in the first place.

If only Nico would allow himself to be loved.

He smiled at him confidently, his own cerulean orbs shining with fondness.

"I-I think–" Nico started, nervousness shining brightly in his eyes, but was suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat behind them in what couldn't be good humor.

Both jumped startled, Will even let Nico's hand slip from his and they turned, anxiously inspecting the darkness for the one person who had interrupted them.

It didn't take much to find him.

Just behind them, through an Iris-message that showed itself slightly fuzzy in the edges was the one was that most people didn't want to see in their lives. Hades, God of the Underworld and, by the way, Nico's godly parent Will reminded himself.

"That explains why I haven't been introduced to a girlfriend of yours" the god said harshly, after a second or two with them just staring back at each other, looking sternly at both teenagers through the Iris Message. Said demigods were viewing him back, debating about whether to feel confused, scared, both or something else.

Beside him, Will could almost feel Nico trembling, not knowing what to do or what to expect from the Lord of the Dead that was looking at him rather dismissively.

He didn't know Hades and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to meet him at that moment.

His eyes were very similar to Nico's, if only a couple of shades darker, and he absently wondered how that was even possible, still, they were staring at him more hatefully than Nico ever had and he refrained the need to step back and shudder. He politely bowed his head in recognition to Hades, who continued to pierce him with his gaze.

"Fa-father he is not– He isn't–" Nico tried to explain, but there were no words in his brain or mouth left, as if they had just disappeared, replaced by a total blankness of fear and confusion.

"Although I have to say I'm not all that surprised . . ." The god of the Underworld murmured thoughtfully, more to himself than to the teenagers on the other side of the Iris message that were now jumping from a surprised look to a fearful and confused one, finally breaking eye contact and turning his eyes to the floor of his throne room.

Holy gods of Olympus, Nico thought, his father was going to kill him. He wouldn't care Will and him weren't even involved in true, he wouldn't care that he had tried as hard as he could to prevent something like this from happening.

He closed his eyes and turned them to the floor, avoiding the disgusted and disappointed look that he was sure to find in his father's eyes.

"What do you mean you–?" Nico started, his voice almost shaking under the weight of his worst nightmare coming true.

"I mean I should have seen this coming" Hades interrupted, gesturing with both hands widely, almost as if he wanted to point the teenagers but didn't want to do it by using his fingers, deciding to point with his extended palms instead. "You, in a romantic relationship with another guy" he muttered, almost hissing, his voice concealing every possible emotion, from disdain to acceptance.

There it comes, Nico thought. His father would surely dedicate a three-hour-long lecture about how miserable and pathetic he was, about how his sister would have been so much better than him. Yes, he knew. And he would have done anything to bring his sister back. But he couldn't, just like he couldn't change the fact that he was indeed attracted to Will in some level.

Will narrowed his eyes. He wasn't too fond of being enemies with an immortal creature, but Hades was not being the nicest, in his very honest opinion. Still, the gods' voice didn't hide contempt and the glance he was directing him wasn't pregnant with hate. The god's dark eyes were piercing him intently, critically, as if he were evaluating him. Although it could only mean that he was trying to find the best way to get him killed.

"Well?" Hades finally said, breaking the horrible silence that had settled in the room. "Are you or are you not going to introduce him to me?"

"W-what?" Nico whispered, slowly raising his eyes from the ground, but not daring meet his father's, focusing on his dark tunic instead. Hades made a sound akin to a growl that seemed like a 'Don't make me repeat it, boy' and Nico decided against it. "W-William Solace" he murmured, his voice barely audible.

Hades nodded, a deadpan expression in his features. "Son of?" He questioned, his voice hiding no emotion at all, well, maybe impatience.

"Son of–" Nico started, before his voice broke off.

"Son of Apollo" Will cut in. "Cabin 7" this time, Hades' strong gaze went to land on him. He shuddered slightly.

"I know the numbers" the god said sternly to him before turning his eyes to the floor, supporting his head in his right hand, which was neatly placed in the armrest of his black throne, in what almost was a tired manner. "Your sister went for a son of Mars and you go up for a son of Apollo" he muttered, probably speaking to Nico, but so quietly it seemed that he was talking with himself instead. "What am I missing?"

He fell silent for a second, as if considering possibilities or evaluating a situation, and none of the demigods dared to interrupt him.

"Well" Hades said after a while, as he raised his penetrating gaze. "Everything is better than a daughter of Demeter" his voice hardened as he continued talking. "Meanwhile it's not a daughter of Demeter you can engage with whomever you like" he said. "But we do not need to tie another string between Demeter and our family, believe me" he murmured.

Nico was caught by the word 'family' in his father's sentence. Hades never referred to them as such, but his father was acting as if everything that was going on was nothing but a simple setback in his day.

Plus, there was that other thing. Hades didn't seem bothered or disgusted or basically anything that he thought he would be once his little secret stopped being that. It almost looked like if Hades had already known and gotten over that fact long time ago, as if he had been 'expecting it', in his very own words.

He slowly, dared raise his eyes to meet Hades', fearing the disdain that they would hold. But, when they finally met gazes . . . the eyes of his father hid nothing of the sort.

He was staring right back at him, emotionlessly. One might have thought that that was a bad sign in itself, but for Nico it wasn't. He had been expecting disappointment as disdain, and although his father's eyes weren't all that welcoming either, they hid no hate, and that was something that he hadn't even dared to hope.

He was looking at him stoically, as always. That sounded weird, but he didn't mind. His relationship with his father could have not been the greatest, but he was fine with it, and he didn't want to change that.

He had been thinking that if his father ever heard note of anything like what was currently taking place he would put up a fuss and make a disaster over it, but in contrast to that, Hades was calmly sitting in his throne, watching him intently, although he seemed more interested in Will, as if he were inspecting him, pretty much like one did with a menu, as if deciding whether to order or not.

"F-father–" he said roughly, trying to get something out from his dry throat, desperately trying to find an explanation or an excuse. Still, he was interrupted by his father, who raised his hand in a gesture that seemed to be asking for silence.

"You want guys, very well" he said, and for a heart-beat it almost seemed there was something akin to acceptance and comprehension in his voice. "Keep it away from Demeter's and I find no reason for opposing" he finished, nodding seriously.

Nico was almost tempted to ask him whether if he was being serious, but he didn't dare. Instead, he only looked back at his father, expecting a threat or warning, but he got nothing of the sort.

"Fine, then" Hades said. "I was calling to summon you to the Underworld but seeing as you are busy" he murmured stoically, sending a cold glance to the son of Apollo before returning his eyes to his own son. "I may have to call your sister." He fell silent for a second or two before he started talking again. "Is there something else that I don't know and should?" He questioned.

Nico denied by moving his head to the sides, not even able to answer using his voice.

"Very well" Hades said. "If that's so, I'm leaving. Try not to get yourselves killed" he said, sending a last glance to Will before the image became fuzzy and finally disappeared.

Once Hades was gone, both demigods refrained a sigh of relief.

"Did he–?" Nico said with a shaky voice. "Did he just say it was fine?"

"That's what he said" Will responded quietly, sending a worried glance to the son of Hades.

Nico sighed again, but it almost seemed useless, as he wouldn't get the air past his mouth. He shakily sat in the first bed he found, which just happened to be one of the empty ones, his eyes focused on the black floor and shielded by dark strands of hair. He absently noted how the mattress moved under the weight of Will when he slowly sat next to him.

To say he was confused was an understatement.

He'd tortured himself so much with thoughts about what would happen if Hades . . . if he ever knew and . . . and now that his father had not only heard a rumor, but watched him hold hands with Will . . . and his father was not even mad. Sure, he wasn't exactly pleased either but still . . .

Suddenly, the tight knots in which his heart had been tied seemed to undone themselves and all at once the air that he had been missing went back to his lungs, making him almost choke himself when he took a sudden and all-too-violent for his taste intake of breath.

The heavy environment that had been almost palpable seconds ago was now gone, as unexpectedly as it had come, leaving behind a much carefree and calm sensation.

Yes, he was indeed homosexual and surprisingly enough, now that he'd come to accept it to himself, it didn't fell like something wrong, not even as something slightly wrenched or twisted as he'd feared it would be.

Now that he'd finally accepted it and faced the thought, it wasn't even slightly as bothering as it had been as a possibility.

He'd practically killed himself with thoughts that went along the lines of 'I might be gay and it is completely wrong' and in the end, when he'd accepted that it was not just a possibility, but a fact, rather than wrong, twisted and unnatural he felt . . . liberated, at ease.

He was gay, dead period–or was it more accurately to say 'alive period', since he felt much more alive, with his heart even beating a bit faster than it usually did at that moment than he'd felt in a very long time?

His father had even compared a hypothetical relationship between him and Will with Frank's and Hazel's, and as far as he knew, his father approved of his sister's relationship if he had likened both relationships did it mean . . ? Could actually mean that his father . . ?

He slowly looked up from the black wooden floor, finally daring to meet gazes with the son of Apollo. Will was smiling at him tenderly, his beautiful blue eyes shining brightly with fondness.

Something in his posture –maybe his arched brows or the way his back seemed to be slightly hunched under an imaginary weight– made his expression seem as if he were expecting something, an answer, a response, and yet, his eyes shone with patience and affect, and for some reason, his intense gaze didn't make Nico nervous or anxious in the slightest bit. He felt protected, safe, at ease with Will next to him.

The son of Apollo possessed that effect on him, especially right then, with the sunlight that for some strange reason and weirdly enough entered through the closed window lightening his handsome features, smiling at him patiently.

A sudden realization hit him in that moment. He trusted him, he trusted Will enough to see him at his weakest, he trusted him to not hurt him, to even defend him and shield him if necessary and the thought wasn't bothering, that thought didn't seem strange or pathetic, as he'd thought it sounded. Something just seemed to fall in place, like things that were just meant to be–and according to Greeks, destiny did exist.

"Listen" the son of Apollo started, interrupting his musings. "You heard Hades" he said, softly. "Nothing will happen. If you want to, we can try to work this out" he continued, for adding rapidly. "It doesn't have to be right now."

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he extended his right arm and gently stroke Nico's cheek, outlining his high cheekbone.

"If you actually want to try something, and I'm fairly sure that it would work" he continued, smiling at him tenderly, as he placed his extended palm over his cheek steadily, a comprehensive look in his eyes. "If you are not ready right now I-I can wait for you to–"

"I want to" the son of Hades interrupted him suddenly, not even aware of the words forming in his lips until he had already blurted then out; a bright-red flush spreading across his porcelain features as his eyes fell abruptly to the ground and his hands gripped the fabric of his black shirt.

Just like that, the atmosphere tensed up and it was harder for him to breathe again. His heart was indeed beating faster, but it was not out of excitement, it was out of fear. He feared a rejection; he feared that the son of Apollo would laugh at him or . . .

Will chuckled softly, but there was no taunt in his velvety voice; Nico noted with relief how it was something that seemed fondness.

"That certainly is something with a solution" he said softly, as he let his right hand that was neatly placed on the younger's cheek slide down until he reached his shoulder and gently pulled him to his chest.

Nico let him do without reluctance, not even slightly bothered by the nearness of Will's body, if anything, he draw himself closer to the son of Apollo, searching his closeness and the comfort the warmth of his body provided.

He slowly dared to rest his head on his left shoulder and Will sighed contently next to him.

Slowly, almost as if with fear, Nico encircled his waist, and Will rested his chin on his dark locks.

"For a moment I feared you would just push me out of the cabin" he said quietly.

"I thought about doing so" Nico admitted, while a small smile appeared in his features.

"Then I thought Hades would incinerate me" Will added, noting how at the simple mention of his father's name the boy in his arms tensed up.

"He would have incinerated _me_" Nico specified, shuddering slightly at the thought. He was about to say something else when Will's lips went to land on his, enabling him to even continue thinking.

This time, they went faster than the previous ones. Maybe it was because this time there was no fear hanging and quite palpable in the air.

Will pulled the son of Hades even closer to him, tightening his arms around his slender body as Nico raised his hands to Will's blonde locks.

When they finally separated from each other, they were both breathing hard and, for once, it was not out of fear.

Will smiled at the younger fondly, noting not for the first time how innocent he looked with his cheeks slightly tainted with red.

Slowly, Nico raised his eyes, finding Will's beautiful cerulean orbs and his confident smile; just as slowly, with something that was almost shyness, he allowed himself to return him a slight, but sincere smile.

Looking at his blue eyes, he knew he had nothing to fear, nothing to be scared of.

Yes, many things had happened in those three days. Many things that were quite significant, but he knew right then and there the most significant one was that one, the one moment in which he knew he that not only could he trust Will, but that he did already. And right then, he also found the answer to the unspoken question from the son of Apollo.

When he spoke, there was no more fear, no more doubt in his voice or within himself, he was sure that what he was saying was nothing but the truth.

"I like you too" he whispered quietly, almost shyly as he broke eye contact, hiding his dark orbs behind darks locks.

He heard Will chuckle softly, that laugh that he'd slowly learned to love and that held a calming effect on him as the son of Apollo encircled his waist with his own strong arms and pulled him closer to him.

"I know you do" he said gently as he lent down to land a chaste kiss in the younger's forehead. "I know you do." Nico sighed quietly next to him.

After everything that had happened it was apparently still true that reality is always better than fiction. And it sure had been, as the "if only's" had suddenly became truth and what he had right then was so many times better than his wonderings had ever taken him to.

* * *

What do you thin? Please let me know!

By the way, there's going to be another chapter, the third and last. It will be a short one, and I can't promise it for very soon, maybe a couple of weeks, but I really hope to have it sooner, and I specially hope to have you reading it! Love you all!


	3. Tying Strings

**Well! Here it is!**

**So, this is the third and last chapter. It is like half the length of the others and it is supposed to be comical but . . . I'm not sure if I managed all the way there . . .**

**Anyways, here you have it!**

**I dadicate this chapter to my sister, Laura, who insisted in having Apollo into the fanfic.**

**So.. yeah, talk about randomness.**

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

**_Chapter Three_**

**_Tying Strings_**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the previous events, since Hades had surprised them in Cabin 13 and since Nico had replied an 'I like you too' to Will. Two weeks and the world was still spinning normally, which was always a good thing, and meant no god was terribly offended by them.

Things at camp had been very easy too. Unlike whatever Nico had expected and feared, nothing had happened, no-one had cared.

True to say, part of that may have been Will's fault, as he had kissed him in front of the whole camp, but . . . still . . .

The news that spread like wildfire hadn't been that two guys had kissed. Oh, no, it had been 'Will Solace kissed Nico di Angelo and we can't find his body'. And he couldn't help but find that a little ironic.

Great had been everyone's surprise when shortly after both had come out of Cabin 13, and not hysteric and fighting, but holding hands. Talk about drawing attention on them.

And then, just like that, everyone had taken it in, almost moving over the matter, not as if they were disgusted and wanted to ignore it, but as if they accepted it, decided it was fine and wanted to keep their thoughts on something else.

It had been easier to take it in than Nico ever thought would be possible.

Once the things with Hades, Will and himself had been settled down, everything had gone much better that he had ever dared to believe was possible.

Of course, having blurted out to the son of Apollo that he wanted a serious relationship with him had –obviously– included accepting his sexuality, and that had been what finally lead him into reveling himself to the others.

It was not that Will had pressured him to that. No, that was sincerely not it. Well, he technically had, kissing him in public, but other than that, Will had been very, very clear that he didn't mind if Nico wanted to keep their relationship secret for a while, and that he didn't want to force him into anything, just as long as they were together, but that didn't keep Nico from thinking that if he actually wanted such a thing to last –and he in fact did– first thing, was honesty.

So he had told them.

By them, he meant Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo, to start with, who ironically hadn't seen Will and him kissing. Hazel and Frank he hadn't seen in the camp, and since he thought it was not something that he should just Iris–Message to his sister he was planning on a fast trip to Camp Jupiter, but not just then.

Either way, it came out to be much simpler thing than he had ever thought it would be.

Upon all the fear and intrigue he had let himself feel through the latest months, once the words had left his mouth, everything had been _easy_.

Percy, for example. He hadn't even cared. No, wait, that made it sound harsh. He _did_ care–care about _him_, but not about his _sexuality_. And it was only then that Nico realized how stupid and pathetic his previous musings were. Percy had sincerely seemed more interested in the _who_ it was that he liked than in the gender.

Just like Jason had always said, Percy didn't care. He was not the kind of person to judge people based on the gender they felt attracted to, and he had said that, simply and straightforwardly. He didn't mind.

Annabeth, too. Instead of driving an hour-long speech about how homosexuality was bad and unnatural she had simply nodded in recognition, and then seemed to push the thought away, as if she had a hundred of more important things to think about.

Jason . . . Well, he already kind of _knew _it. He still had been a good help spelling it out for Leo, though.

Piper as well. Instead of, well, whatever he had thought she might have done, she had smiled. Like really brightly, from ear to ear. 'Knew it!' she'd said cheerfully.

And life had continued just as easily.

They were the only people whose opinion Nico actually cared about, even if it was in the least, and they were the only ones who he'd bothered to say directly.

However, it was still a nice feeling to know that no-one cared about such a thing.

Upon reading a little about gay people in Ancient Greece, Nico had discovered that homosexuality had been eyed as the most natural thing there, three thousand years aback, going as far as to find that people like Julius Cesar, Plato and Leonardo da Vinci had been homosexuals. Seeing it from that point, it made only sense that the half-bloods, the inheritors of the Ancient Greek culture, had similar thoughts on the matter.

Currently, Nico and Will were walking out of the Big House with Will holding up a box filled with medicines –same that Nico had bothered to call 'medical dynamite that might end up killing someone' and refused to carry– and Nico had one filled with different kinds of bandages and other items, walking right next to the son of Apollo.

They were heading to the infirmary, which was surely not the most romantic place on earth to be, but Will was still leader to the Apollo's cabin and had things to take care of there nevertheless.

Unlike what most campers thought, the infirmary wasn't magically provided.

It took the leader of Cabin 7 to write an inventory every two months and a list of what they were in need of, then take it to Chiron and Mr. D. to check it up and, finally, have the request sent to the Big House so that he could pick it up and storage it back in the infirmary.

Which was exactly what they were doing at the time.

Nico still somewhat expected the other campers to say something contemptuous at their backs each time Will and him were together, but it never once happened, the others simply smiled at them, pretty much as they would have to _any_ other couple, not doing anything other than raising their hands in recognition, waving at them absentmindedly from the distance when they happened to come across them, continuing their interrupted conversations soon after, as if nothing strange had happened.

They continued to walk meanwhile talking about small things like the weather and the medicine request that they were taking –fine, Will was doing most of the talking, with Nico simply listening and nodding–, and they had almost reached the infirmary's door when something happened.

Suddenly a loud crash was heard and something hit the ground, making the whole camp shake violently.

Both of them stopped walking and turned around with startled expressions fixed upon their faces; Will's right hand had already been extended towards the doorknob, and now he just let it fall to his side.

There was the sound of refrained screams, and it was not for less, they realized as they came to look back at a golden chariot, very similar to the ones they used at camp when they had races, but this one was bigger, much bigger, almost the size of a buffalo, with two enormous golden horses that seemed made out of pure gold, worthy of the Hephaestus' cabin, or more likely, the god himself, placed in front of it, pulling it. On the back part of the chariot there was a man wearing some worn-out jeans and a yellow t-shirt. He had sparkly blue eyes, identical o those of Will or to practically any other of his siblings, if only a couple of shades darker. Blonde strands of hair hung around his eyes and a smirk that almost seemed devious was placed in his lips.

When the dust around the vehicle dispersed, the refrained surprise screams from before were raised around the campers that'd seen it falling right from the sky and in front of the infirmary, although both Nico and Will had missed it.

Still, in the exact moment they turned they both recognized it: the chariot that represented the sun in old myths, which meant the god that rode it was there too.

"Holy Olympus" Nico murmured under his breath, his eyes widening slightly with fear and confusion when he placed the golden item.

Will was just starting to open his moth to retort something when suddenly the someone from the chariot gracefully walked down from it, smiling and waving his hand at the surprised teenagers like some kind of rock star.

"It's midday at camp" he said solemnly, as if he were about to make a great discovery instead of an awful poem. "I am the sun and shine bright. Are you cool as I?" he finished, smiling brightly, as if he expected everyone around him to start applauding. Needless to say, the campers did, smiling awkwardly.

Apollo then turned serious. "Now, as for what brought me here . . ." he murmured, more to himself than to others. "William Solace!" he said, almost screaming. At first, Nico thought he was mad, but then he realized his voice didn't seem like that, it just sounded . . . loud, as if he were trying to bring everyone's attention to him.

Will bent down slowly to leave the cardboard box in the floor and then stepped forward, forcing a smile.

"Dad" he greeted, confirming –if even necessary– everyone's suspicions.

Apollo was already on him, making a fuss with his hands, hugging his son rapidly and then placing his hands on his shoulders, bending frontwards in favor of staring at Will's eyes directly, a little bit to close, since their noses were almost touching.

"I heard about it!" Apollo continued, almost screaming, oblivious to how the other campers were eyeing him curiously. "Is it true?"

For a second, Will seemed shy, almost confused, as if he didn't even know what to say, but he recovered just as fast, smiling back at Apollo, nodding.

"Yes, Fa-Father" he said, loud enough for anyone around them to listen. "He–"

"Where is he?" Apollo interrupted abruptly.

Will stepped back, freeing himself from Apollo's grip and smiled confidently back at him, discreetly pointing Nico, who seemed just about to die out of embarrassment, sending nervous glances to both Will and Apollo.

"Father" Will said in a solemn voice that seemed somewhat similar to the one in which Apollo had recited, but just like his father then, there was a smirk placed in his lips. "This is Nico di Angelo. Nico, my father, Apollo. Father, he is my–"

"Your boyfriend" Apollo cut him off, walking passed his son and towards Nico until he was in front of the boy, his face placed too close to his, in Nico's very honest opinion. With a movement of his hand he snatched the box that Nico was holding and set it gracefully on the floor, next to Will's.

Apollo eyed him intently, while Nico awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, debating whether to look at the god or to the floor, same that Apollo solved by gripping his chin and forcing him to meet his eyes.

"Son of Hades, I understand?" he said, more like stating, sending a glance to Will, who nodded.

Nico held his breath, half expecting him to look at him disapprovingly or disappointedly, but the god's face didn't hold any of that. Apollo was looking at him directly, curiously, almost as if studying him.

"He's got pretty eyes" Apollo decided, turning to look at Will and then back at Nico. Will nodded, smiling.

"Italian ascendance" he pointed out calmly, as if he was expecting his father to like that fact.

"Really, Italian?" Apollo said, eyeing the boy with even more curiosity than before. "We were in Italy once, for the Renascence" he nodded, a slightly serious look in his features until, of course, it disappeared. "Your mother's last-name came from England, y'know? We were on England too, for the Industrial Revolution." He nodded, and then his eyes sparkled. "I feel it coming again" he murmured thoughtfully, and then:

"Italy is cool.

Feel the same of Great Britain.

But not as cool as I."

He nodded, satisfied with himself, and then seemed to return to the world and remember what he had been doing.

Nico's cheeks were now vaguely tainted with red by now, but he was not sure about whether if it was out of awkwardness or shyness.

Apollo continued to study him, his eyes still shone with that naughty gleam, although there was some kind of seriousness in them, as if he thought he was taking care of something important, which he probably thought he was doing, seeing as he had just interrupted his duty as the sun god to appear at the camp.

"He's too thin" the god muttered under his breath, eyeing Will. "Doesn't this boy eat enough?" Nico looked slightly offended by the question, but only shuddered slightly, narrowing his eyes at the god, unable to retort anything to him, a shy, almost sheepish, look in his young features.

"Yes, I've told him" Will nodded. "But he–"

"And these bags . . ."Apollo continued to mutter. "Haven't you got him the Valerian pills?" he asked, turning to look at Will.

"Yes I did" the teen answered. "He just doesn't want to take them" Apollo nodded seriously and stepped back to take a better and more complete look of Nico, who was raising both arms to his chest, as if to cover himself.

Apollo inspected him, biting his lower lip. Nico shuddered slightly, drawing his eyes to the floor.

"I approve of him" he finally said, solemnly, just before every bit of seriousness disappeared from his face. Smiling brightly again, almost as a teenager, Apollo cleared his throat, almost the way someone on the stage would do to bring everyone's attention to him, same he did, only that his public were restless teenagers. And then he said it:

"Left my work alone.

Daddy Zeus will want me dead.

I am still so cool."

And just like that he turned on his heels, smiling with satisfaction and then jumping on the chariot, urging the horses, same that set off soon enough, rising to the sky rapidly, shining brightly as they walked, until the light became too much for a human eye to see and the campers had to cover their eyes.

When they could open them again, all that they could see was a tiny golden trace in the air where the horses had set foot.

Nico stood frozen in his spot, breathing heavily and utterly confused due to Apollo's sudden –and quite unplanned– apparition, his pallid features still slightly tainted with pink.

Will chuckled softly next to him, raising his right hand to Nico's shoulder after bending down to pick both boxes up.

"Well, that was strange" Nico murmured quietly. "To say the least".

"Sorry 'bout that" he murmured softly next to him while he slowly opened the door to the infirmary and dragged the son of Hades into the room. "My father can be kind of . . . random" he continued to apologize as he left both boxes over one of the tables, pushing aside a couple of notepads away and then pulled Nico into a loose hug, with no reluctance from his part.

"I was wondering where you got that" Nico managed to say shakily, still not fully recovered from the impression while he hid his face into the curve of Will's neck.

The son of Apollo smiled softly, placing his chin on Nico's dark locks, tightening his grip around his waist.

Absently, and not for the first time, the son of Hades wondered how was it possible for them to fit so perfectly in to the body of the other, like pieces of a puzzle, simply meant to be. He was pulled out of his reflections by Will's sweet voice.

"Don't worry" he said calmly. "I promise my mother isn't like that. Not that bad at least" he added thoughtfully.

For a moment, Nico's body tensed up in Will's arms, alarms going off in his brain.

Will had talked said that as if it were something natural, as if they had accorded it. Meeting Will's mother would mean they were into something serious. Not that he didn't think that they were not into a serious relationship it was just that . . . He felt the familiar tugging of nervousness in his chest, as breathing became something harder.

This was he had so carefully avoided for so long, with not staying too long at the camp, at any of them, with not getting too attached to anyone, with not trusting anyone. _Tying strings_. That was what he'd been avoiding for such a long time. Tying strings between him and anyone, or anything, for the matter.

Tying strings.

And still . . . if he really stopped to think about it . . . he didn't really feel scared this time, just confused, just nervous. He didn't feel scared when it came to Will. Somehow that he still failed to explain he couldn't feel his throat closing at the thought of trusting Will, at the thought of tying strings with _him_.

What he _did_ feel was stupid. Here he was, worrying about nothing and killing himself with thoughts that made no sense at all. What did he have to fear? Hadn't the son of Apollo proved himself to him enough?

He trusted Will, and he was positive about that. His problem had been _trusting_ others, and if he trusted Will already . . . Could it mean that he had already started doing what he'd feared for so long, without him even noticing?

His body slowly relaxed against Will's burying his face even deeper into his neck.

"You're blushing" Will pointed out teasingly, his sweet voice easing all the remnant tension in the younger's body. How could he distrust him? How could he?

"I'm not!" he retorted with the stubbornness of a child, but hid his face against Will's chest nevertheless.

"Yes you are" Will hummed sweetly, Nico groaned in response. "C'mon you look so cute when you blush!"

Nico groaned, yet again. "I'm the Ghost King here, I'm not _supposed_ to look cute to you!" he muttered, his voice muffled by Will's tanned skin.

"Yeah" Will nodded slowly. "But you said it, 'supposed', it doesn't mean an impossible. And besides, you are _my_ Ghost King and you look cute to me" he said, his voice holding the tone of someone that is pointing out the obvious.

There it was again, Nico thought. Tying strings. Will was mentioning, making allusion to it again. Tying strings between both of them. And yet, this time, unlike the previous, he didn't feel sacred by it.

Even if he couldn't see him, Will smiled fondly at him, pleased by how such simple things as taking the bimonthly medical order to the infirmary would suddenly become something memorable, as long as Nico was with him. Yeah, he was already pushing aside the fact that his father had randomly decided to appear at the camp because, right then, it didn't even seem important.

Still trying to hide his blushing, and with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, Nico nodded against Will's chest, encircling his waist, unconsciously pulling the older boy closer to him.

Maybe, and just maybe, he thought, the time had come for him to start tying strings.

* * *

**I'm not sure about how did that go . . . Like I feel I'm missing something into it but I don't really know what it is...**

**Please tell me what you think with a comment!**


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